Building on lessons they've learned in the classroom, Knox College students are traveling all over the world during the 2014 winter break, taking their studies to Cuba, Japan, Spain, and Belize.

Knox faculty members are leading the trips, which are extensions of courses taught during the 2014 fall term. Here's an overview of where Knox students are spending time:

Cuba

Students are following in the footsteps of writer Ernest Hemingway, whom they studied in a course taught by Professor Robin Metz, director of the Program in Creative Writing at Knox.

"A central fact is that Hemingway lived longer in Cuba than in any other place in his much-traveled life," Metz said. "It's always compelling to visit places where writers have worked, to see the view out their window, as it were."

Spain

Students are exploring various sites related to the Spanish Civil War, which they studied in a course taught by Antonio Prado, associate professor of modern languages and literatures (Spanish).

Prado said students will "get an understanding of a concept of history that is not just a display in a museum, but a part of what we live today. Visiting and experiencing some of these sites will forge their imagination beyond the classroom."

Japan

Students are becoming immersed in Japanese culture through Knox's Japan Term, an interdisciplinary program that combines classroom studies into the language, history, and philosophy of Japan with a two-week trip to Japan.

Belize

Students are getting an up-close look at that country's marine biology, which they studied in a course taught by Watson Bartlett Professor of Biology Linda Dybas.